Michael E. Kinsley (born March 9, 1951) is an American political journalist and commentator. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on '' Crossfire''.

Early life and education

Kinsley was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, the son of Lillian (Margolis) and George Kinsley, who practiced medicine. Kinsley is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He attended the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, then graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1972. At Harvard, Kinsley served as vice president of the university's daily newspaper, '' The Harvard Crimson''. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and studied at Magdalen College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, then returned to Harvard for law school.

Early career

While a third-year law student, Kinsley began working at ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''. He was allowed to finish his Harvard

juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree through courses at the evening program at George Washington University Law School. Kinsley's first exposure to a national television audience was as moderator of William Buckley's '' Firing Line.'' In 1979, he became editor of ''The New Republic'' and wrote the magazine's TRB column for most of the 1980s and 1990s. That column was reprinted in a variety of newspaper op-ed pages, including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and made Kinsley's reputation as a leading political writer. He shared the 1986 Gerald Loeb Award for Commentary. In 1984, he wrote that "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth", giving rise to the concept of a Kinsley gaffe. In 1986, he organized a contest for readers of ''The New Republic'' to find a newspaper headline more boring than "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative". The contest was won by "Debate goes on over the nature of reality", and "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative" became a long-running joke among journalists and bloggers. Kinsley also served as managing editor of '' Washington Monthly'' (in the mid-1970s, while still in school), editor at '' Harper's'' (for a year and a half in the early 1980s), and American editor of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' (a short-term, honorary position).

''Crossfire'' and ''Slate''

From 1989 to 1995, Kinsley appeared on CNN's '' Crossfire'', co-hosting with conservative Pat Buchanan. Representing the liberal position in the televised political debates, Kinsley combined a dry wit with nerdy demeanor and analytical skills. In January 1995, Kinsley had a cameo on the first episode of the TV sitcom '' Women of the House'', in which the show's main character, Suzanne Sugarbaker, was a guest on '' Crossfire''. He also appeared in three movies during the 1990s: '' Rising Sun'' (1993), '' Dave'' (also 1993), and '' The Birdcage'' (1996). After leaving ''Crossfire'' in 1995, Kinsley returned to his editorial roots, relocating to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

to become founding editor of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

's online journal, '' Slate''. In 1998 he was considered for the position of editor in chief of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. In 1999 he was named Editor of the Year by the '' Columbia Journalism Review'' for his work at ''Slate''. Kinsley stepped down from ''Slate'' in 2002, shortly after disclosing that he had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Subsequent positions

Kinsley next moved to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' as editorial page editor in April 2004. He maintained his Seattle residence and often worked from there, commuting to Los Angeles on a part-time basis. During his tenure, Kinsley tried to overhaul the paper's editorial page and led an abortive experiment with a Wikitorial, while also receiving criticism from

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

professor and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

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Susan Estrich alleging a dearth of editorials written by women. Kinsley announced his departure in September 2005 after a falling out with the publisher. He returned to writing a weekly column for ''The Washington Post'' and ''Slate'', and in 2006 he served briefly as American editor of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. He also became a regular columnist for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, but in May 2009 wrote that the magazine had "dumped" him. On September 9, 2010, Kinsley and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

pundit Joe Scarborough joined the staff of ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' as the publication's first opinion columnists. On April 29, 2011, Bloomberg L.P. announced that Kinsley had joined the Bloomberg View editorial board. In January 2013, Kinsley re-joined ''

'' as editor at large. In January 2014, '' Vanity Fair'' announced that Kinsley would become a contributing editor and write a monthly column.

Personal life

In 2002, Kinsley married Patty Stonesifer, a longtime top executive at

and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (As a Microsoft vice president, she had managed the Microsoft news portion of the

merger, which included ''Slate''.) Stonesifer has two adult children from a previous marriage. She is president and CEO of Martha's Table, a non-profit that develops sustainable solutions to poverty. In 2002, Kinsley revealed that he had

, and on July 12, 2006, he underwent deep brain stimulation, a type of surgery designed to reduce its symptoms.

References

External links

*
Kinsley's website
such as it is
Michael Kinsley's other website

Archive of Kinsley work at Time magazine

Video interview/discussion with Kinsley
and Robert Wright on Bloggingheads.tv * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsley, Michael 1951 births Living people American atheists American columnists American male journalists American political commentators American political writers Jewish American journalists American Rhodes Scholars American online publication editors Cranbrook Educational Community alumni The Harvard Crimson people Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Harvard Law School alumni Los Angeles Times people People with Parkinson's disease Writers from Detroit Journalists from Detroit Writers from Seattle The New Republic people Slate (magazine) people George Washington University Law School alumni Harvard College alumni Gerald Loeb Award winners for Columns, Commentary, and Editorials Politico people